Phase locked loop using received signal

ABSTRACT

A phase locked loop includes a signal receiver configured to generate a mixed signal based on the received signal and an oscillator signal, and a frequency control circuit configured to compare the mixed signal to a reference signal, and adjust the oscillator signal based on a result of the comparing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2015-0025992 filed on Feb. 24, 2015, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates to a phase locked loop.

2. Description of Related Art

A phase locked loop is used in various circuits to lock and tune afrequency. The phase locked loop includes a frequency divider todecrease a frequency of a frequency generator. Recently, low poweroperation has become an important consideration in various digitaldevices. However, since the frequency divider has a high frequencyinput, the frequency divider consumes a large amount of power.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In one general aspect, a phase locked loop includes a signal receiverconfigured to generate a mixed signal based on a received signal and anoscillator signal; and a frequency control circuit configured to comparethe mixed signal to a reference signal, and adjust the oscillator signalbased on a result of the comparing.

The signal receiver may include a mixer configured to generate the mixedsignal based on a difference between the received signal and theoscillator signal.

The mixed signal may be an intermediate frequency signal; and the mixermay be a down conversion mixer configured to convert the received signalto the intermediate frequency mixed signal.

The received signal may be a high frequency signal.

The mixed signal may be an intermediate frequency signal; and the signalreceiver may include an amplifier configured to amplify the intermediatefrequency mixed signal.

The frequency control circuit may include a phase detector configured tocompare the mixed signal to a reference signal, and output a pulsesignal based on a difference between the mixed signal and the referencesignal; a charge pump configured to convert the pulse signal to avoltage signal; a low pass filter configured to remove a high frequencycomponent from the voltage signal; and an oscillator configured togenerate the oscillator signal based on an output signal of the low passfilter.

The phase locked loop may further include an oscillator configured togenerate the oscillator signal and including a capacitor bank; and thefrequency control circuit may be further configured to detect afrequency of the oscillator signal and may include a frequencycontroller configured to adjust the frequency of the oscillator signalby adjusting the capacitor bank of the oscillator.

The frequency control circuit may include a Schmitt trigger configuredto generate a pulse signal from the mixed signal.

The signal receiver may include a first mixer configured to generate afirst mixed signal based on a difference between the received signal anda first oscillator signal; and a second mixer configured to generate asecond mixed signal based on a difference between the first mixed signaland a second oscillator signal.

The first mixer may be further configured to down convert the receivedsignal to an intermediate frequency signal; and the second mixer may befurther configured to down convert the first mixed signal to a basebandsignal.

The frequency control circuit may include a first frequency controlcircuit configured to adjust the first oscillator signal by comparingthe first mixed signal to a first reference signal, and adjusting thefirst oscillator signal based on a result of the comparing by the firstfrequency control circuit; and a second frequency control circuitconfigured to adjust the second oscillator signal by comparing thesecond mixed signal to a second reference signal, and adjusting thesecond oscillator signal based on a result of the comparing by thesecond frequency control circuit.

In another general aspect, a frequency control circuit may include aphase detector configured to compare a mixed signal to a referencesignal, and output a pulse signal based on a difference between themixed signal and the reference signal; a charge pump configured toconvert the pulse signal to a voltage signal; a low pass filterconfigured to remove a high frequency component from the voltage signal;and an oscillator configured to generate an oscillator signal based onan output signal of the low pass filter; and the mixed signal isgenerated based on a difference between a received signal and theoscillator signal.

The received signal may be a high frequency signal; and the mixed signalmay be an intermediate frequency signal.

The oscillator may include a capacitor bank configured to control afrequency of the oscillator; and the frequency control circuit mayfurther include a frequency controller configured to detect a frequencyof the oscillator signal, and adjust the frequency of the oscillatorsignal by adjusting the capacitor bank of the oscillator.

The frequency control circuit may further include a Schmitt triggerconfigured to generate a pulse signal from the mixed signal.

In another general aspect, a method of operating a phase locked loopincludes generating a mixed signal based on a received signal and anoscillator signal; comparing the mixed signal to a reference signal; andadjusting the oscillator signal based on a result of the comparing.

Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detaileddescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a phase locked loop usinga received signal.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal receiver.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frequency controlcircuit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a phase locked loopincluding a plurality of frequency control circuits.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationapparatus including a frequency control circuit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of operating aphase locked loop using a received signal.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, the same referencenumerals refer to the same elements. The drawings may not be to scale,and the relative size, proportions, and depiction of elements in thedrawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader ingaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses,and/or systems described herein. However, various changes,modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/orsystems described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art. The sequences of operations described herein are merelyexamples, and are not limited to those set forth herein, but may bechanged as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, withthe exception of operations necessarily occurring in a certain order.Also, descriptions of functions and constructions that are well known toone of ordinary skill in the art may be omitted for increased clarityand conciseness.

The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, andare not to be construed as being limited to the examples describedherein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the fullscope of the disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only, and is not intended to limit the disclosure. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The terms “include” and “have,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, numbers,operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,numbers, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms, including technical and scientificterms, used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art. and are not to be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a phase locked loop usinga received signal.

Referring to FIG. 1, a phase locked loop 100 includes a signal receiver110 and a frequency control circuit 130.

The signal receiver 110 generates a mixed signal MS based on a receivedsignal RS and an oscillator signal LO. The received signal RS may be asignal received by an external system separate from a system includingthe phase locked loop 100. In one example, the received signal RS has apredetermined frequency. The signal receiver 110 includes an input forreceiving the received signal RS. The oscillator signal LO is a signalgenerated by an oscillator included in a frequency control circuit 130.The mixed signal MS is a signal in which the received signal RS and theoscillator signal LO are mixed. The signal receiver 110 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The frequency control circuit 130 adjusts the oscillator signal LO bycomparing the mixed signal MS to a reference signal REF, and adjustingthe oscillator signal based on a result of the comparing. The frequencycontrol circuit 130 locks or tunes a frequency of the oscillator signalLO. The frequency control circuit 130 does not include a frequencydivider. Since the frequency divider uses a high frequency signal as aninput signal, an amount of power consumption in the phase locked loop100 increases if a frequency divider is used. The phase locked loop 100reduces the amount of power consumption by using the received signal RSof the signal receiver 110 instead of a frequency-divided signalobtained by dividing the received signal RS with the frequency divider.The frequency control circuit 130 will be described in detail withreference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal receiver.

Referring to FIG. 2, the signal receiver 110 includes a mixer 111 and anamplifier 112.

The mixer 111 generates a mixed signal MS based on a difference betweena frequency of a received signal RS and a frequency of an oscillatorsignal LO. The received signal RS is a high frequency signal and themixed signal MS is an intermediate frequency signal. The mixer 111 is adown conversion mixer to convert the high frequency received signal RSto the intermediate frequency mixed signal MS. For example, the receivedsignal RS may have a frequency of 2.398 gigahertz (GHz) and theoscillator signal LO may have a frequency of 2.4 GHz. In this example,the mixed signal MS has a frequency of 2.4 GHz−2.398 GHz=2 megahertz(MHz). Thus, in this example, the frequency of the 2.398 GHz of thereceived signal RS is a high frequency, and the frequency of 2 MHz ofthe mixed signal MS is an intermediate frequency. An intermediatefrequency is a frequency that is between a high frequency and baseband.A baseband signal is a signal that has not been modulated to a higherfrequency band.

The amplifier 112 amplifies the mixed signal MS. The amplifier 112 maybe a single-stage amplifier or a multi-stage amplifier. The amplifier112 is an intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier to amplify theintermediate frequency mixed signal MS. The amplifier 112 may include avariable gain amplifier (VGA) and an automatic gain control (AGC)circuit to adjust a gain of the variable gain amplifier.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frequency controlcircuit.

Referring to FIG. 3, a frequency control circuit 130 includes afrequency controller 131, an oscillator 132, a low pass filter 133, acharge pump 134, a phase detector 135, and a Schmitt trigger 136.

The frequency controller 131 detects a frequency of an oscillator signalLO. The frequency controller 131 may detect the frequency of theoscillator signal LO by counting rising edges of the oscillator signalLO during a predetermined time interval using a digital counter (notshown). For example, the frequency of the oscillator signal LO may bedetected to be 2.4 GHz when a total of 2400 rising edges are counted inthe oscillator signal LO during a 1 microsecond (μs) period.

The frequency controller 131 adjusts the frequency of the oscillatorsignal LO by adjusting a capacitor bank (not shown) of the oscillator132. For example, the frequency controller 131 may adjust the capacitorbank to decrease the frequency of the oscillator signal LO from 2.4 GHzto 2.398 GHz.

The frequency controller 131 generates the oscillator signal LO based onan output signal of the low pass filter 133. The oscillator 132 is alocal oscillator to provide the oscillator signal for a predeterminedportion of a system. The oscillator 132 is a voltage controlledoscillator (VCO) to generate the oscillator signal LO based on a voltageinput to the oscillator 132. The oscillator 132 generates the oscillatorsignal LO based on a voltage of the output signal of the low pass filter133.

The low pass filter 133 removes a high frequency component from avoltage signal. The low pass filter 133 removes a high frequencycomponent generated from a mixed signal MS passing through the Schmitttrigger 136, the phase detector 135, and the charge pump 134.

The charge pump 134 converts a pulse signal output from the phasedetector 135 to a voltage signal. The charge pump 134 outputs a currentproportional to a pulse width of the pulse signal output from the phasedetector 135 to the low pass filter 133 based on a pulse code.

The phase detector 135 compares the mixed signal MS to a referencesignal REF having a predetermined frequency, and outputs the pulsesignal based on a difference between the mixed signal MS and thereference signal REF. The reference signal REF may be generated by atemperature compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO).

The Schmitt trigger 136 generates a pulse signal from the mixed signalMS. The Schmitt trigger 136 converts a distorted signal to a rectangularpulse. The Schmitt trigger 136 generates the pulse signal when the mixedsignal MS exceeds an input threshold value.

In one example, when a frequency of the received signal RS is 2.398 GHz,the frequency of the oscillator signal LO is 2.4 GHz so that a frequencyof the mixed signal MS will be 2 MHz. In one example, when a minimumincrement by which a capacitance of the capacitor bank of the oscillator132 can be adjusted is not sufficiently low and a resolution of thefrequency controller 131 is not sufficiently high, the oscillator signalLO may oscillate at 2.4 GHz±Δf.

The phase detector 135 compares the mixed signal MS to the referencesignal REF and generates an error pulse signal corresponding to Δf. Theerror pulse signal is converted to an error voltage signal as the errorpulse signal passes through the charge pump 134 and the low pass filter133. The error voltage signal is fed back to the oscillator 132 toadjust the frequency of the oscillator signal LO so Δf=0 is satisfied.

The signal receiver 110 performs the function of a frequency dividerwhile eliminating a power consumption of a frequency divider from thephase locked loop 100.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a phase locked loopincluding a plurality of frequency control circuits.

Referring to FIG. 4, a phase locked loop 100-1 includes a signalreceiver 110-1 and frequency control circuits 130-1 and 130-2.

The signal receiver 110-1 includes an antenna 115, a band select filter113, amplifiers 114 and 112-1, and mixers 111-1 and 111-2.

The antenna 115 receives a received signal RS from an external systemseparate from a system including the phase locked loop 100-1. Thereceived signal RS is received by the antenna 115 in the example in FIG.4. However, the received signal RS may be also received via a wiredconnection.

The band select filter 113 selects a predetermined band in the receivedsignal RS. The band select filter 113 may be a band pass filter toselect a predetermined band. When various channels are used in aninternal system, all of the various channels may pass through the bandselect filter 113. When the antenna 115 is used for receiving andtransmitting, a duplexer may function as the band select filter 113.

The amplifier 114 amplifies a signal of the band selected by the bandselect filter 113. The amplifier 114 may be a low noise amplifier (LNA).

The mixer 111-1 generates a mixed signal MS1 based on a differencebetween the mixed signal RS and an oscillator signal LO1. In oneexample, the received signal RS is a high frequency signal and the mixedsignal MS1 is an intermediate frequency signal. In this example, themixer 111-1 down converts the high frequency received signal RS to theintermediate frequency mixed signal MS1.

The amplifier 112-1 amplifies the mixed signal MS1. The amplifier 112-1may be a single-stage amplifier or a multi-stage amplifier. Theamplifier 112-1 is an intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier to amplifythe intermediate frequency mixed signal MS1.

The frequency control circuit 130-1 controls the oscillator signal LO1by comparing the mixed signal MS1 and the reference signal REF1, andadjusting the oscillator signal LO1 based on a result of the comparing.The frequency control circuit 130-1 may have the same structure andperform the same operations as the frequency control circuit 130 in FIG.3. For example, the frequency control circuit 130-1 may include thefrequency controller 131, the oscillator 132, the low pass filter 133,the charge pump 134, the phase detector 135, and the Schmitt trigger 136in FIG. 3.

The mixer 111-2 generates a mixed signal MS2 based on a differencebetween the mixed signal MS1 and an oscillator signal LO2. In oneexample, the mixed signal MS1 is an intermediate frequency signal andthe mixed signal MS2 is a baseband signal BS. In this example, the mixer111-1 down converts the intermediate frequency mixed signal MS1 to thebaseband signal BS.

The frequency control circuit 130-2 adjusts the oscillator signal LO2 bycomparing the mixed signal MS2 and a reference signal REF2, andadjusting the oscillator signal LO2 based on a result of the comparing.The frequency control circuit 130-1 may have the same structure andperform the same operations as the frequency control circuit 130 in FIG.3. For example, the frequency control circuit 130-2 may include thefrequency controller 131, the oscillator 132, the low pass filter 133,the charge pump 134, the phase detector 135, and the Schmitt trigger 136in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationapparatus including a frequency control circuit.

Referring to FIG. 5, a wireless communication apparatus 200 includes anantenna 210, a duplexer 220, a signal transmitter 230, a signal receiver110-3, a frequency control circuit 130-3, and a processor 250. Thewireless communication apparatus 200 may be a computer system includinga security system, a set-top box, a mobile communication apparatus, aninformation technology (IT) apparatus, or any other wirelesscommunication apparatus known to one of ordinary skill in the art.Although FIG. 5 illustrates some components included in the wirelesscommunication apparatus 200 for ease of description, other hardwarecomponents may also be included in the wireless communication apparatus200.

The duplexer 220 transmits and receives a wireless RF signal through theantenna 210.

The signal transmitter 230 receives a data signal including information,for example, a voice, an image, or data. The signal transmitter 230converts the data signal to a wireless RF signal and transmits thewireless RF signal. The data signal may be a baseband signal.

The signal receiver 110-3 receives a wireless RF signal. The signalreceiver 110-3 converts the received wireless RF signal to the datasignal and outputs the data signal. The data signal may be a basebandsignal.

The signal transmitter 230 or the signal receiver 110-3 operates inresponse to a signal output by the frequency control circuit 130-3.

The frequency control circuit 130-3 does not include a frequency divideras described above. The frequency control circuit 130-3 locks or tunes afrequency of an oscillator signal using the received wireless RF signalwhen the wireless communication apparatus 200 is operating in areceiving mode. The frequency control circuit 130-3 uses the receivedwireless RF signal by sharing at least a portion of a path of the signalreceiver 110-3 for receiving the wireless RF signal.

The frequency control circuit 130-3 locks or tunes the frequency of theoscillator signal using the transmitted wireless RF signal when thewireless communication apparatus 200 is operating in a transmittingmode. The frequency control circuit 130-3 uses the transmitted wirelessRF signal by sharing at least a portion of a path of the signaltransmitter 230 for transmitting the wireless RF signal.

The processor 250 adjusts an operation of the signal transmitter 230 oran operation of the signal receiver 110-3. In one example, the processormay operate in response to a signal output by the frequency controlcircuit 130-3.

In the example in FIG. 5, the wireless communication apparatus 200further includes a data processor 260. The data processor 260 may be adisplay apparatus or an input apparatus. The processor 250 controls thedata processor 260.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of operating aphase locked loop using a received signal.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 10, the phase locked loop 100generates a mixed signal based on a received signal and an oscillatorsignal.

In operation 20, the phase locked loop 100 adjusts the oscillator signalby comparing the mixed signal to a reference signal, and adjusting theoscillator signal based on a result of the comparing.

The signal receivers 110, 110-1, and 110-3 in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5, thefrequency control circuits 130, 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 in FIGS. 1 and3-5, the mixers 111, 111-1, and 111-2 and the amplifiers 112, 112-1, and114 in FIGS. 2 and 4, the frequency controller 131, the oscillator 132,the low pass filter 133, the charge pump 134, the phase detector 135,and the Schmitt trigger 136 in FIG. 3, the band select filter 113 inFIG. 4, and the duplexer 220, the signal transmitter 230, the processor250, and the data processor 260 in FIG. 5 that perform the operationsdescribed herein with respect to FIGS. 1-6 are implemented by hardwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include controllers,generators, drivers, memories, comparators, arithmetic logic units,adders, multipliers, digital counters, frequency controllers,oscillator, low pass filters, charge pumps, phase detectors, Schmitttriggers, and any other electronic components known to one of ordinaryskill in the art. In one example, the hardware components areimplemented by one or more processors or computers. A processor orcomputer is implemented by one or more processing elements, such as anarray of logic gates, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, adigital signal processor, a microcomputer, a programmable logiccontroller, a field-programmable gate array, a programmable logic array,a microprocessor, or any other device or combination of devices known toone of ordinary skill in the art that is capable of responding to andexecuting instructions in a defined manner to achieve a desired result.In one example, a processor or computer includes, or is connected to,one or more memories storing instructions or software that are executedby the processor or computer. Hardware components implemented by aprocessor or computer execute instructions or software, such as anoperating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run onthe OS, to perform the operations described herein with respect to FIGS.1-6. The hardware components also access, manipulate, process, create,and store data in response to execution of the instructions or software.For simplicity, the singular term “processor” or “computer” may be usedin the description of the examples described herein, but in otherexamples multiple processors or computers are used, or a processor orcomputer includes multiple processing elements, or multiple types ofprocessing elements, or both. In one example, a hardware componentincludes multiple processors, and in another example, a hardwarecomponent includes a processor and a controller. A hardware componenthas any one or more of different processing configurations, examples ofwhich include a single processor, independent processors, parallelprocessors, single-instruction single-data (SISD) multiprocessing,single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing,multiple-instruction single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, andmultiple-instruction multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing.

The method illustrated in FIG. 6 that performs the operations describedherein with respect to FIGS. 1-6 are performed by a processor or acomputer as described above executing instructions or software toperform the operations described herein.

Instructions or software to control a processor or computer to implementthe hardware components and perform the methods as described above arewritten as computer programs, code segments, instructions or anycombination thereof, for individually or collectively instructing orconfiguring the processor or computer to operate as a machine orspecial-purpose computer to perform the operations performed by thehardware components and the methods as described above. In one example,the instructions or software include machine code that is directlyexecuted by the processor or computer, such as machine code produced bya compiler. In another example, the instructions or software includehigher-level code that is executed by the processor or computer using aninterpreter. Programmers of ordinary skill in the art can readily writethe instructions or software based on the block diagrams and the flowcharts illustrated in the drawings and the corresponding descriptions inthe specification, which disclose algorithms for performing theoperations performed by the hardware components and the methods asdescribed above.

The instructions or software to control a processor or computer toimplement the hardware components and perform the methods as describedabove, and any associated data, data files, and data structures, arerecorded, stored, or fixed in or on one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media. Examples of a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium include read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs, CD-RWs,CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs,BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-opticaldata storage devices, optical data storage devices, hard disks,solid-state disks, and any device known to one of ordinary skill in theart that is capable of storing the instructions or software and anyassociated data, data files, and data structures in a non-transitorymanner and providing the instructions or software and any associateddata, data files, and data structures to a processor or computer so thatthe processor or computer can execute the instructions. In one example,the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, anddata structures are distributed over network-coupled computer systems sothat the instructions and software and any associated data, data files,and data structures are stored, accessed, and executed in a distributedfashion by the processor or computer.

While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made in these examples without departing from the spiritand scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples describedherein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and not forpurposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in eachexample are to be considered as being applicable to similar features oraspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if thedescribed techniques are performed in a different order, and/or ifcomponents in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit arecombined in a different manner, and/or replaced or supplemented by othercomponents or their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosureis defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and theirequivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and theirequivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.

1. A phase locked loop comprising: a signal receiver configured togenerate a mixed signal based on a difference between a received signaland an oscillator signal; and a frequency control circuit configured tocompare the mixed signal to a reference signal, and adjust theoscillator signal based on a result of the comparing.
 2. The phaselocked loop of claim 1, wherein the signal receiver comprises a mixerconfigured to generate the mixed signal based on the difference betweenthe received signal and the oscillator signal.
 3. The phase locked loopof claim 2, wherein the mixed signal is an intermediate frequencysignal; and the mixer is a down conversion mixer configured to convertthe received signal to the intermediate frequency mixed signal.
 4. Thephase locked loop of claim 1, wherein the received signal is a highfrequency signal.
 5. The phase locked loop of claim 1, wherein the mixedsignal is an intermediate frequency signal; and the signal receivercomprises an amplifier configured to amplify the intermediate frequencymixed signal.
 6. The phase locked loop of claim 1, wherein the frequencycontrol circuit comprises: a phase detector configured to compare themixed signal to the reference signal, and output a pulse signal based ona difference between the mixed signal and the reference signal; a chargepump configured to convert the pulse signal to a voltage signal; a lowpass filter configured to remove a high frequency component from thevoltage signal; and an oscillator configured to generate the oscillatorsignal based on an output signal of the low pass filter.
 7. The phaselocked loop of claim 1, further comprising an oscillator configured togenerate the oscillator signal and comprising a capacitor bank; whereinthe frequency control circuit is further configured to detect afrequency of the oscillator signal and comprises a frequency controllerconfigured to adjust the frequency of the oscillator signal by adjustingthe capacitor bank of the oscillator.
 8. The phase locked loop of claim1, wherein the frequency control circuit comprises a Schmitt triggerconfigured to generate a pulse signal from the mixed signal.
 9. Thephase locked loop of claim 1, wherein the signal receiver comprises: afirst mixer configured to generate a first mixed signal based on adifference between the received signal and a first oscillator signal;and a second mixer configured to generate a second mixed signal based ona difference between the first mixed signal and a second oscillatorsignal.
 10. The phase locked loop of claim 9, wherein the first mixer isfurther configured to down convert the received signal to anintermediate frequency signal; and the second mixer is furtherconfigured to down convert the first mixed signal to a baseband signal.11. The phase locked loop of claim 9, wherein the frequency controlcircuit comprises: a first frequency control circuit configured toadjust the first oscillator signal by comparing the first mixed signalto a first reference signal, and adjusting the first oscillator signalbased on a result of the comparing by the first frequency controlcircuit; and a second frequency control circuit configured to adjust thesecond oscillator signal by comparing the second mixed signal to asecond reference signal, and adjusting the second oscillator signalbased on a result of the comparing by the second frequency controlcircuit.
 12. A frequency control circuit comprising: a phase detectorconfigured to compare a mixed signal to a reference signal, and output apulse signal based on a difference between the mixed signal and thereference signal; a charge pump configured to convert the pulse signalto a voltage signal; a low pass filter configured to remove a highfrequency component from the voltage signal; and an oscillatorconfigured to generate an oscillator signal based on an output signal ofthe low pass filter; wherein the mixed signal is generated based on adifference between a received signal and the oscillator signal.
 13. Thefrequency control circuit of claim 12, wherein the received signal is ahigh frequency signal; and the mixed signal is an intermediate frequencysignal.
 14. The frequency control circuit of claim 12, wherein theoscillator comprises a capacitor bank configured to control a frequencyof the oscillator; and the frequency control circuit further comprises afrequency controller configured to detect a frequency of the oscillatorsignal, and adjust the frequency of the oscillator signal by adjustingthe capacitor bank of the oscillator.
 15. The frequency control circuitof claim 12, further comprising a Schmitt trigger configured to generatea pulse signal from the mixed signal.
 16. A method of operating a phaselocked loop, the method comprising: generating a mixed signal based on adifference between a received signal and an oscillator signal; comparingthe mixed signal to a reference signal; and adjusting the oscillatorsignal based on a result of the comparing.